1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cockpit module assembly for a vehicle, in which plural components such as an air conditioner are readily assembled as a single assembling body to a portion inside a dashboard of the vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
In a conventional vehicle structure, a blower unit and an air-conditioning unit of an air conditioner are fixed to a strengthening rod extending in a vehicle right-left direction inside a dashboard, so that the blower unit and the air-conditioning unit are integrally assembled through the strengthening rod. Because the strengthening rod is generally disposed at a vehicle rear upper side of the air conditioner, the blower unit and the air-conditioning unit dangle unstably on the strengthening rod, and therefore, the air conditioner is readily vibrated due to a vehicle vibration.
Further, because a steering device is generally supported by the strengthening rod, vibration generated by the operation of the blower unit is readily transmitted to the steering device through the strengthening rod.
On the other hand, a center cluster, where plural components such as a radio, an audio device and an air-conditioning operation panel are gathered, is fixed to the strengthening rod at a center portion of the strengthening rod in the vehicle right-left direction using both relatively larger brackets. Therefore, the attachment structure for fixing the center cluster to the strengthening rod becomes complex.
In view of the foregoing problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle cockpit module assembly in which an air conditioner can be accurately stably supported to a vehicle frame.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a vehicle cockpit module assembly which restricts a transmission of vibration generated by the operation of a blower unit to a steering device.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a vehicle cockpit module assembly in which an air conditioner can be readily assembled to a vehicle frame.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a vehicle cockpit module assembly in which an attachment structure for fixing a center cluster can be made simple with a reduced size.
According to the present invention, in a vehicle cockpit module assembly having at least an air conditioner disposed inside a dashboard, the air conditioner includes an air-conditioning unit having therein a heat exchanger for performing a heat exchange with air, a position determination portion is provided in the air-conditioning unit for determining an arrangement position of the air-conditioning unit inside the dashboard during an assembling state before being mounted on the vehicle, and first and second load support portions for supporting load of the air-conditioning unit are provided at a vehicle rear lower side and a vehicle front side of the air-conditioning unit, respectively, to be assembled to a vehicle frame during a vehicle mounting state after the assembling state. Accordingly, in the vehicle cockpit module assembly, the air-conditioning unit can be accurately and stably assembled to the vehicle frame using the position determination portion.
Because the first and second load support portions are provided at the vehicle rear lower side and the vehicle front side of the air-conditioning unit to be assembled to the vehicle frame, the first load support portion of the air-conditioning unit can be respectively directly supported by a floorboard of the vehicle frame. Further, the position determination of the air-conditioning unit is performed during the assembling state before the vehicle mounting state by the position determination portion, and the first support portion is provided at the rear lower side of the air-conditioning unit, which does not interfere with the other components within the dashboard. Therefore, the air conditioner can be readily assembled to the vehicle frame. Because both the first and second support portions are provided in the air-conditioning unit, the supporting state of the air-conditioning unit to the vehicle frame can be maintained even when the position determination state of the position determination portion to the vehicle frame is released in the vehicle mounting state.
Generally, the position determination portion is set at a predetermined position of a strengthening member to which a steering device is attached. Therefore, when the position determination state of the position determination portion relative to the strengthening member is released in the vehicle mounting state, it can prevent a transmission of vibration generated by the operation of the blower unit to the steering device through the air-conditioning unit and the strengthening member.
Preferably, the first load support portion is constructed by a rear air duct through which air is blown toward a rear seat side of a passenger compartment. More preferably, the second load support portion is constructed by a drain pipe through which condensed water generated by a cooling heat exchanger of the air-conditioning unit is discharged. Accordingly, the first and second load support portions can be readily simply provided in the air-conditioning unit, and the load of the air-conditioning unit can be stably supported by the first and second load support portions.
Preferably, the air-conditioning unit is disposed inside the dashboard at an approximate center position in a vehicle right-left direction, the air-conditioning unit has an air-conditioning case for defining an air passage through which air flows into the passenger compartment, at least a part of the air-conditioning unit is fixed to the dashboard, and the air-conditioning case has a fixing portion at a vehicle rear side position for fixing a center cluster in which plural electrical components are integrally gathered. The plural components are a radio, an audio device and the like, for example. Because the fixing portion for fixing the center cluster is provided in the air-conditioning case on the vehicle rear side, the fixing portion can be readily simply formed at a position adjacent to the center cluster without a specific bracket for the center cluster. Accordingly, the attachment structure of the center cluster can be made simple with a reduced size.